


The Possibility of Miracles

by Icon_UK



Category: New Mutants (Comics), X-Men (Comicverse)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-09
Updated: 2019-10-09
Packaged: 2020-11-28 00:27:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20957438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Icon_UK/pseuds/Icon_UK
Summary: Kitty Pryde and Betsy Braddock have an unusual, and unique, offer for the parents of Doug Ramsey.Yet another "Filling in the gaps" fic, as it's something that's niggled at me for too long, and I don't see why I should be the only one to suffer! :)I've also lost track of what Betsy's powers were at any given moment, given how often they seem to change, but in this she's purely a telepath.Sort of dialogue heavy, but that's me all over.





	The Possibility of Miracles

They arrived at 10am as agreed, and knocked on the door of the suite.  
  
It was Kitty Pryde who answered the door. Now a grown woman, smartly attired in a tailored tweed suit, but still obviously the girl they had known years before. She smiled and ushered them in.  
  
“Mr and Mrs Ramsey. Thank you for agreeing to come today, I can only imagine how hard it must have been, and I am very grateful”  
  
“Thank you Kitty, or should we call you Ms Pryde now?”  
  
“I’d be happy with either, but I hope you’ll choose Kitty.”  
  
“I suppose you should call us Sheila and Phillip?” Mrs Ramsey seemed a little uncertain.  
  
“Not if it makes you uncomfortable.”  
  
Mr Ramsey gave her a sardonic look, “There’s a lot that might make this conversation uncomfortable Kitty, that would be the least of it.”  
  
Kitty nodded, “That's fair. In that case, I think I’ll stick with what I know then, Mr and Mrs Ramsey it is.”  
  
The hotel suite was impressively spacious, with a comfortable sitting area, doors to other rooms leading off of it.  
  
They found another person waiting in the largest open area. She was a strikingly beautiful Asian woman, whose purple hair complimented rather than clashed with her mauve blouse and dark trousers. She rose to greet them with the poise of a model.  
  
“For reasons that will become evident, I’m going to leave you to talk with Ms Braddock, Betsy, here. Don't worry, I won’t be far away, so shout if you need me, but please. I ask you to listen to what she has to say, and believe her as you would believe me.”  
  
With that she disappeared into one of the side rooms.  
  
The Ramsey's declined Betsy’s offer of tea, noting her cut-glass English accent, though she poured herself a cup. The Ramsey’s sat on a couch, clearly still uncomfortable, Betsy sat on a chair facing them.  
  
As she sipped her tea, she sought to break the initial tension.  
  
“I confess I haven’t been back here in quite some time.”  
  
“America?” asked Mr Ramsey, more out of the human need to fill in awkward silences than anything.  
  
“No, Westchester. I was affiliated with the Xavier School in the past. I still am, but don’t get to visit very often”  
  
The Ramsey’s stiffened slightly at this, and Betsy felt emotions under very tight control, struggling to the surface again.  
  
Mrs Ramsey was direct “We’ll be honest Ms Braddock, the only reason we agreed to this was that the letter was from Kitty. We’re a little surprised to be talking to someone other than her.“  
  
Mr Ramsey matched her “The letter mentioned that it had to do with our son. I hope that wasn’t another deception on the part of Xavier or anyone associated with him.”  
  
Betsy nodded, acknowledging the barb.  
  
“Mr and Mrs Ramsey, if you believe nothing else I tell you today, believe me that no-one one associated with the School would ever use your son’s name lightly. For starters, anyone who did would answer to me.”  
  
Her tone didn’t change, but just for a second, the Ramsey’s had the unsettling sensation that this woman was someone you did NOT want to have to answer to.  
  
Betsy grimaced a little “And that’s only because I can move faster than Kitty, and Sam, and Dani and well…. Douglas meant a great deal to a great many people at the Xavier School.” she paused for a moment, “Though of course, none of us would presume to suggest it was a fraction of what he meant to you.”  
  
Mrs Ramsey nodded, Mr Ramsey looked uncertain. Betsy decided to lay some cards on the table to move things forward.  
  
“Before we go any further I will tell you, as a sign of good faith, that I am a mutant, a telepath in fact, but I will not be using my abilities to read your thoughts, nor will I influence your thinking in any way. Aside from the obvious ethical issues, that would defeat the purpose of this whole meeting. When I said I was associated with the Xavier School, I meant that I am also a member of the X-Man, I am sometimes known by the codename Psylocke, if that means anything”  
  
Mr Ramsey now spoke again. “Honestly, Miss Braddock? It doesn’t. The fact that no one at the school ever thought to tell us that the School was a base for the X-Men came as not so much a shock, as a betrayal. I thought I knew Charles, I liked the man, admired his goals, and I did the legal work to set up that school. As it turned out that was not what he intended at all.”  
  
“We contacted the school after he announced that he was a mutant, but did not get much of a reply, I know we could have sued, but we decided we basically wanted nothing to do with any of it. It would just have been re-opening old wounds, and it wouldn’t bring our son back anyway.”  
  
“If Kitty’s letter hadn’t assured us this was not “X-Men” business, but a personal one, I’d have shredded it. She was a good friend to Doug, and about the only person we’d give the benefit of the doubt.”  
  
Betsy nodded. “That’s entirely fair, and Kitty told you the truth. The period following Charles’ “coming out” announcement was a complicated one for many reasons and many matters were not addressed which should have been. The two of you were one such instance. For that you have our deepest and genuine apologies. I promise I will answer all your questions with absolute honesty. You are owed so much more than that, but I hope it will be a start.”  
  
“To answer the first questions I know you will have. No, Doug was not a member of the X-Men, but yes, Doug was a mutant, who was part of a special study program at the Xavier School, to learn to utilise his abilities to best effect along with other young mutants in the same situation.”  
  
“I know he chose not to share that fact that he was a mutant with you and I know that choice caused him a great deal of heartache. He knew you loved him, but given the world we live in, he feared that discovering he was a mutant might be a step too far. He’d seen it happen, even amongst his class-mates; parents who loved their children right up until the moment the word “mutant” was spoken and then, well you’ll have seen some of the news reports over the years.“  
  
“I also know, though he’d have denied it, that he worried about the social stigma for you that might have arisen if it had become known.”  
  
“However, it was his choice to make and we all respected it, though we did assure him that we could offer support if he changed his mind. Every mutant has had a conversation like that with a family or loved one at some point, and it’s never easy. I speak from experience there too, as would Kitty.”  
  
There was a catch in Mrs Ramsey’s voice, “He was worried for us?”  
  
Betsy looked genuinely surprised, she hadn't expected such a question. “Of course, it was in his nature, and his upbringing, to worry about other people… a LOT. I'd say it defined pretty much everything he did.”  
  
Mr Ramsey looked at his wife, who nodded, and he asked a question that Betsy had known was coming too.  
  
“How did Doug die? It wasn’t in a hunting accident, was it?”  
  
Betsy took a deep breath. “No, it was not. It was a shooting, yes and it was quick and he didn’t suffer. But the actual circumstances were that he was shot whilst saving the life of a friend. It was on what might best be described as an errand of mercy, unapproved by the school."  
  
"So the one who killed him, if it wasn't a random hunter. Do you know who it was?"  
  
"Yes, I know, and if it's any comfort, he met a fitting end almost immiedately after what he did to Doug. I'd rather not go into the details of that, but will if you want me to."

"I'd rather you focussed on the fact that as well as saving his friend, his actions that day led directly to saving many, many more lives too. I believe you know the friend he saved, Rahne Sinclair.  
  
“The shy girl with the red hair? Scottish? Yes, we met her a few times. Nice girl. Was THAT why she was so broken up at the funeral? Doug talked about her a lot. We think he had a crush on her, but she didn’t stay in touch after he died, and it didn’t seem right to push.”  
  
“Indeed. And yes, Rahne is the Scottish girl, and also a mutant werewolf. She is still with us today thanks to Doug. As are so many others… he literally saved the entire planet on one occasion, and no, that is not hyperbole.”  
  
“Really? What could Doug… do? We see the X-Men and other superheroes do really bizarre and, truth be told, scary things. Flying, shooting fire, punching through buildings, and none of that seems like… well, like Doug.”  
  
A genuine smile played across Betsy’s lips, “It doesn’t, does it? Doug’s talent was unique in our experience. He could translate any form of language or communication almost instantly. Human languages, alien languages, computer languages, he’d start with nothing and be completely fluent within a day or two at most. He came to Xavier’s on a computer science scholarship after all, but that was barely the tip of the iceberg of his potential. He also had a healthy dose of common sense, which is a lot rarer than mutant powers in my experience and, having met you, I think we know where he got that.”  
  
The Ramseys were clearly processing this, trying to think things through at their own level. “He was always good with things like VCR instructions I guess?”  
  
“Proof positive then, they still baffle me and I can read minds.”  
  
“We did wonder if it was computers, he always loved them, spending all that time working on his computer with Kitty, or talking to his friends online. It sounds like an odd thing to be a mutant power though.”  
  
“Truth be told, Mr Ramsey, Doug thought the same a lot of the time. Powers like his are very rare, but just as extraordinary as any other. To be honest, we never did work out how it even worked, but it did, every time. He chose the codename of Cypher.”  
  
Mrs Ramsey frowned “Wait a minute, you said alien languages? What aliens?”  
  
Betsy smiled again “Ah, you spotted that. Well, the incident where I mentioned he’d saved the world involved a planned alien invasion, sort of, so that’s one. The X-Men and Douglas’ class had more than their share of alien contacts one way or another and even a couple of members over the years.”  
  
Mrs Ramsey nodded “That…. blue fellow with the fangs and the tail?”  
  
“Actually no, Kurt is German, but he gets that reaction a lot, and it’s not the big metal man either, he’s Russian. Tell me, did Doug ever mention a friend called Warlock?”  
  
Mr Ramsey’s was lost in through for a moment, “Oh yes, a LOT. We met him at the funeral too, he seemed really upset about it all. We weren’t sure that was his actual name, but Doug said he was an exchange student or something, so we just assumed it was hard to pronounce.”

Mrs Ramsey chimed in “Doug was always kind of a quiet kid, and he'd never spoken about a boy like that before. I have to say I wondered if he had a bit of a crush on this Warlock too, that maybe that was why he stopped telling us about everything going on at the school. I mean, we wouldn’t have minded, I don’t think so at any rate, but after what happened it didn’t seem to matter any more anyway. So you mean Warlock was actually…”  
  
“Oh yes, Warlock _is_ very much an alien and he and Doug were the very best of friends. They shared a very special bond” She smiled, lost in a memory of her own for a moment.  
  
“I could, and would happily reminisce about those days for as long as you’d like, but returning to the reason for this meeting. “  
  
“There was some competition to be the person standing here today. Charles thought it would be inappropriate for him to attend at this meeting, but he would like to talk to you at some point if you’re willing. There were at least a half dozen other alumni and faculty who volunteered, old team-mates and friends of your son. I fought for, and won, the privilege because I was in a position to offer something that the others’ were not.“  
  
“I’ve mentioned I’m a telepath, and because of this I can offer you something unique. I am going to tell you something, and then I am going to offer you a choice. Depending on your choice, I can let the situation develop, or I can painlessly, and with permission, remove all memory of the question from your mind and you can continue your life as if it never happened.”  
  
The Ramsey’s exchanged glances, suspicion and curiosity combined. “What sort of a question can be that important.”  
  
“Okay, here we go.” Betsy took a deep breath, “Recent events mean that Doug is alive, and we wondered if you’d like to see him again?”  
  
A silence stretched out, the Ramsey’s expressions frozen.  
  
Then Mrs Ramsey stood up and heading directly to the door, dragging her husband by the hand along with her. His confusion and her anger were visible without needing telepathy.  
  
“That is in very poor taste Ms Braddock.”  
  
Somehow, in a single, fluid movement that neither of the Ramsey’s quite registered, Betsy was between them and the door, holding her hands up in placation.  
  
“Please, I said no one would use Doug’s name lightly, and I meant it. I understand your reaction, it mirrors our own I promise you, but please… hear me out. ”  
  
“Or you’ll make me? With your telepathic… whatever it is you can do?”  
  
Betsy opened her mouth to say something angrily, then stopped for a moment. “Truth be told, I might be tempted to, if I hadn’t promised you, and Douglas, that I wouldn’t and I hold to my word. If you really want to, you can leave and never hear from me again, or you can listen to me now, and consider… just consider, the possibility of a miracle.”  
  
Something about her expression stopped them, her absolute sincerity. They shared a glance and moved reluctantly back to the couch.  
  
Betsy poured two cups of tea and pushed them towards the Ramsey’s, just in case, as she elaborated.  
  
“Let me make it clear that I didn’t mean ‘miracle’ in the strictly religious sense. It’s a bizarre story, even by X-Men standards. It’s a long story too, but to be brief an old enemy of the X-Men sought to user her own powers to bring people we’d known and lost back from the dead to attack us. It was as unpleasant as it sounds, and in most cases it did not end well, but thanks to Doug’s friends, and Warlock in particular, they were able to, well, bring him back to himself.”  
  
“So he’s a what? A zombie? A dead thing? We BURIED him! He was ENBALMED for gods sake!”  
  
Betsy shook her head emphatically, “No, absolutely not. We wouldn’t be here today if that were the case, we would never hurt you like that. Hard as it is to believe, he was physically restored and it won’t be undone. He’s literally alive again, body and soul, for want of a better term. He’s walking, talking, eating and sleeping just like he always did. He apparently still snores too.”  
  
“This is not something that everyone can deal with, for any number of perfectly understandable reasons. From what I know of you, and the son you raised, I suspect you can, but Douglas wanted to give you the choice.”  
  
“You both suffered a terrible loss and have moved past it. Not forgotten it, but… accepted it and continued with your lives. Whatever choice you make, you have our respect for the extraordinary strength that takes.”  
  
“The last thing Doug would want to do is upset you, so if you have any doubts about any of this, of seeing him again, of knowing he’s a mutant, of him not being dead, of making him a part of your life again after all this time, then say the word and this meeting is over.”  
  
“As promised you can walk out that door remembering nothing I’ve just told you, with our continued respect, or remembering as much as you’d like apart from him being alive, if you so choose.”  
  
“Please note though, that this will be a one time offer, because it’s not something you can have hanging over your head, and we won’t hurt Doug like that. So please, think it over. I’ll give you some privacy.”  
  
The Ramsey’s exchanged glances and Betsy could tell that there was something more profound than even telepathy going on. She picked up on hope and expectation and uncertainty and doubt and more hope. She looked pointedly down into her teacup but knew she wasn’t going to have time to leave the room before they’d speak up.  
  
Mrs Ramsey sipped her tea, though her knuckles holding the handle were white with tension. She chose her words carefully, looking over at her husband frequently.  
  
“Ms Braddock… Betsy, no parent ever accepts the death of their child, they just spend every day knowing it happened but keep going, and it just slides along with them, sometimes a little more out of sight than others, but never gone.”  
  
“We learned to live with the silence where his voice had been, where he’d clattered up the stairs to his room, or listened to his music just that little bit too loudly, or that snoring you mentioned. But you still notice the silence, because it shouldn’t be there.”  
  
Mr Ramsey moved closer to his wife, possibly without realising what he was doing, and took over.  
  
“We ended up converted Doug’s old room after a few years, not because we cared any less, but because it hurt too much to walk past it every day, knowing all his things were there, but he wasn’t.”  
  
“I swear that if this is a deception, I will sue every single one of you for the rest of your lives. But if it is true, that you can offer us a chance like this, and, and ask us what our choice is? It’s not a choice. It’s not even a question.”  
  
Mrs Ramsey took her husbands hands “What we’re trying to say is… Where is Doug? How long will it take to set up a meeting?”  
  
Betsy let out a visibly held breath, and smiled again, “He’s in the next room, Kitty and Warlock are offering him moral support awaiting your decision”  
  
Betsy shut her eyes for a moment, a delicate pink butterfly appearing over her face, reminding Mrs Ramsey of a carnival mask she’d seen on a trip to Venice.  
  
The door Kitty had vanished into opened again, and she emerged, smiling warmly at the Ramsey’s again, clearly relieved at their choice. but paying more attention to the figure she was leading (Well, dragging might be a better word) out, offering reassurance with a hand on their shoulder  
  
“I swear I don’t get to do things like this nearly often enough. Mr and Mrs Ramsey, it is my pleasure to reintroduce you to someone I think you know quite well.”  
  
And then Doug was standing there in front of them, wearing a plain white shirt, jeans and an incredibly nervous expression. Longer hair maybe, and looking somewhat older, but still, it was unmistakably their son.  
  
“Dad…? Mom…? “ he hesitated, clearly uncertain how to continue the conversation further. Luckily the matter was rendered moor by his parents moving forward to embrace him. Kitty actually had to phase her arm to prevent it being caught in a vice like hug.  
  
There the followed a lot of not terribly coherent mumbling from all three of them, which was mostly crying… probably. They pulled apart after a couple of minutes, then looked at each other and dived back into another embrace.  
  
Warlock emerged from the room too and stood next to Kitty, he’d assumed the appearance the Ramsey’s had known him as, just in case, but it was drifting around the edges.  
  
“Selfsoulfriendcypherdoug and selfsoulfriendparentalentities seem… emotional. Self is unclear if happy/sad but suspect no clear/binary answer”  
  
“You’re better at this than you make out Warlock, it’s definitely borh. But I think we can leave them to it for now. We’ll be there if he needs us.”  
  
“Affirmation”  
  
Betsy and Kitty exchanged grateful glances as Kitty disappeared again. Betsy realised that words were becoming clearer from the Ramsey huddle as things settled down a little  
  
“You never told .. ow could I? … missed you .. never thought…”  
  
The pink butterfly effect futtered over Betsy’s eyes for a moment. She reached out to Doug on private mode  
  
\--With your permission Doug, I can perhaps make this a little easier? A mind link to share memories perhaps?--  
  
\--Thank you Betsy, but no. This is mine to deal with in my own way--  
  
Pulling back slightly from the hug, but still holding his parent’s arms, and tears still streaming down his face, Doug said something in a language Betsy didn’t recognise, but as soon as she heard it she knew it wasn’t being said for her benefit.  
  
These were not words for communicating facts, this was a language that defined emotional truths, and would only be understood by someone who the speaker shared a lifetime of emotional resonance with. Even listening to it without that connection seemed wrong, almost… voyeuristic.  
  
The Ramsey’s eyes widened, they were clearly understanding whatever it was that Doug was saying to them. Emotions flickered across their faces faster than Betsy would have thought possible. When he finished, they said nothing, but fell back into the hug that was starting to look like their default position.  
  
She had never known Doug could use his powers like this, so it must be something new since he came back. For a moment she wondered about the tactical possibilities, the concise transfer of complex concepts and plans, but dismissed the thought immediately. Cypher could produce all the unbreakable codes they might ever need and barely notice, but this was something else, a true extension of his powers.  
  
Eventually she felt she had to intervene, and gently guided the three of them back to the couch, where they all sat down, with Doug in the middle, naturally. They all shared the same somewhat shocked expressions.  
  
“Now, moving forward, there will still be counselling sessions for you all of course, we have a number of the best professional family counsellors available, at the School’s expense of course. This is only the first meeting, and though I don’t think it could have gone better, don’t expect it to be an entirely easy process. It’s a profound change for all of you, several all at once in fact…” She tailed off.  
  
She tried to be matter of fact, really she did, she had a well earned reputation as a hard-edged ninja with a heart of tempered steel after all, but this was Doug, and Doug would always be a special case, she owed him that.  
  
“Though to be honest I suspect that little… whatever it was you were saying to each other just now, probably did some queue-jumping in that regard”  
  
Doug looked a little sheepish at that.  
  
“...but we should still have a plan in place, in case.”  
  
She continued to speak to them, outlining a plan of action, but at the back of her mind she wondered to herself.  
  
“They say there are seven stages to processing grief, I wonder how many stages there are to processing joy?”


End file.
